Thoughts
by Wishing-for-a-Zoro-plushie
Summary: ZoLu A Fight, and Luffy thinks something that no Captain should ever think. Or at least dwell on.


**Well, I have been a little depressed lately, and school is really getting me down, so, I decided it was time to write some ZoLu fluff to try and take my mind off of everything else in the world. I hope this isn't too... meh. It has a bit of action, and a bit of Zoro and Sanji friendship, but, that's very weak. I much prefer them trying to kick each other's butts. More fun. XD **

**Anyway, I don't think I really have anything much else to say. Don't know why I called it 'Thoughts', probably just because Luffy's thinking. -Shrugs- No idea, I just mainly wrote this with the intention of cheering myself up, so, I hope it cheers you all up as well. XP **

**The first bit is like, where they are sort of thing, and after the line, it flashes back to what happened to cause the beggining, and then after the second line, it goes back to following what happened after the beggining. Man, I almost need my own translator. I hope you all understand that. **

**Disclaimer: Me no no own One Piece. If I did, a) Luffy and Zoro would have made out way before now, and b) Zoro would have had his shirt off a lot more often. -drools-**

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_**Thoughts**_

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled as his captain disappeared under the water. The swordsman pulled his swords from his waist, pulled his shoes from his feet and then dived over the edge of the dock and into the water. It was silent and still, unlike the battle that still raged above them on the shore.

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The Merry had come in to dock and found another pirate ship there. Luffy had gone to the local restaurant, and the rest of the crew had come along as well but all they found was a bunch of drunken, rowdy pirates who were looking for a fight.

Luffy had tried to deny it, for once in his life not interested in testing his strength against someone. The rest of the crew, as always, followed suit and they went back to the ship. Unfortunately, the other pirates must have known a shortcut and got back before the straw hats.

Once the captain had called Luffy a coward, that was it. Spinning around, Luffy had aimed a punch at the captain and knocked him a few hundred metres back down the road, leaving a long trail in the ground. The rest of his crew, had joined in.

Zoro had ended up fighting a freakish looking man with dark brown hair and a sunken in face. Nami had pulled out her clima-tact and was fighting a skinny looking pirate with a goatee. Sanji was up against a round, red haired man who just seemed to want to dodged everything Sanji aimed at him and Usopp was hiding behind a nearby tree, peeking out every few seconds to snipe another of the minor pirates on the ship.

He had gotten a fair few. It was when the captain had returned, that Luffy's fight began. The captain, having realized that Luffy was a devil fruit user, had immediately grabbed Luffy and tried to throw him in the water.

This was both a mistake, and a dangerous thing to do. Luffy had wrapped his arms around the tall man and slammed him into the ground. Luffy had dusted off his hands and then turned around only to be hit in the face by a pirate who had snuck up behind him.

The captain had grabbed Luffy and pulled out a knife, but the captain of the straw hats was not worth a bounty of thirty million belli for nothing. He swung around, using his rubber powers to kick out with both legs and catch both enemy pirates off guard.

Landing on his hands, he performed a move much similar to Sanji, as he twisted around, spinning himself like a top before flipping into the air and back onto his feet. He heard a yell, and turned to see Zoro backing away, one of his legs held in the air as he hopped on the other. Two of his swords were missing and the only one left was the one in his mouth, Wadau. Luffy blinked. How had that happened?

Zoro was the best, and Luffy knew he couldn't be defeated by someone as simple as these weakling pirates. It was then he looked around and saw Usopp running for his life as the ones the marksman had sniped, had snuck up on the long nose and 'relieved' the boy of his slingshot.

Nami was being beaten, her clima-tact bent in a few spots. Sanji, was still holding his own pretty well, but it was plain his hands were hurting from so much flipping on the rough, sharp rocked road. He had resorted to standing in one spot and slamming his heel into anyone that came close. But, Sanji could only use one leg at a time without flipping, and the pirates just kept getting back up again.

Luffy bit his lip. His judgement had gone astray. He had made a wrong decision. They should have just gotten on Merry, and sailed away. Now he had gotten everyone in trouble. These pirates were dangerous, unknown, but dangerous. Stealthy, and very hard wearing.

Turning back, Luffy's eyes widened as the captain aimed his knife at Luffy's throat. The captain of the Straw hats jumped backwards, the strong slash instead going down and ripping two of the buttons off of Luffy's shirt.

The boy frowned and his eyes darkened, the straw hat on his head shadowing them as his back rose. Throwing both fists back, he grinned nastily at the men standing before him.

"You're in for it now." he hissed and then let his arms spring back, both fists making a line for the two men's heads. Two sets of eyes widened, and both heads moved out of the way, Luffy's fists just missing them.

"Nice try kid, but you're small time compared to us." the captain growled, his voice a low purr. Luffy growled as his arms returned to their normal length again. Throwing his arms into the air, he wove his fingers together and then stretched them to create a net.

The pirates jumped to either side and rolled out of the way as Luffy brought his makeshift net down on them. Luffy immediately began un-weaving his fingers, but, he was too late. Both men grabbed his arms, and threw him over the edge of the dock, and into the water.

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Zoro swam as fast as he could with one leg, the other having been wounded very deeply and bleeding in the water. God, he hope there weren't any sharks around. Bubbles issued from his mouth and nose as he swam towards the fluttering red shirt beneath him.

Luffy lay against the sandy bottom of the ocean, the water underneath the dock having not been very deep. Zoro kicked his leg harder and finally managed to reach the dying captain. Pulling the boy close to him, Zoro began kicking back towards the surface again.

He was nearly to the surface when Sanji fell in beside him, the chef unconscious. Zoro mentally cursed and reaced out with his free hand to grab onto Sanji's jacket. It was rather lucky the taller man was so light, or they would have sunk.

Zoro let out another breath and then his head broke the surface, his face and lungs stinging. Pulling Luffy and Sanji up beside him, he pushed both onto the shore and began climbing up himself. Luffy spat out a heap of water and coughed, Sanji doing the same on his other side.

"NAMI! USOPP!" Zoro yelled as loudly as he could. Where were they?

"ZORO!" Nami's voice cried and the swordsman turned to see the Merry begin sailing out to sea. The two smartest people on the ship must have escaped their foes and set sail. Zoro slapped Sanji across the face. The Chef's eyes snapped open and he glared daggers at Zoro.

"What the hell was that for?" the blonde asked. Zoro pointed at the ship, and then at the pirates running towards them. Sanji stiffened and dived back into the water, Zoro behind him, Luffy over his shoulder.

"Sanji! Dive under the water!" Zoro called and then did so himself. Pistols were being fired, and the further underwater they were, the safer they would be. It wasn't long before the bottom of Merry came into view and Zoro went back up to the surface, his lungs heaving and Sanji bobbed up beside him.

Nami's face looked down on them from the rail of the ship and she sighed in relief. They were safe.

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That night, Zoro couldn't sleep. He was lying in his cabin, in his hammock, but, Luffy's snores weren't lulling him to sleep like usual. After having been so long with his captain, Zoro found he couldn't sleep at night without Luffy's soft snores, and when he was on deck, trying to sleep, he really found his sleep was that much better when Luffy interrupted.

Sighing, Zoro pushed the sheet down and threw his legs out over the side of the hammock. Slipping his feet into his boots, he began to silently make his way for the door, grabbing his swords, which Nami had somehow recovered for him and tying them around his waist as he did so.

"Oi, Marimo." a soft voice said and Zoro paused to look around. A pair of blue eyes were looking at him from across the room and the swordsman frowned.

"What do you want?" he hissed. Sanji sighed and the eyes narrowed.

"Zoro… thanks for saving me. If you hadn't grabbed me, I would have drowned." the chef said softly. Zoro blinked. Was the blonde actually trying to say thankyou? Weird. Something must have been wrong with him. Zoro gave a short nod.

"No problem." he replied and then walked out the door. Opening the trap door, the swordsman poked his head out and looked around. He blinked when he spotted a lanky figure, silhouetted by the bright full moon that was slowly rising above the back of the ship.

Luffy was leaning against the rail, one leg cocked behind the other and his hands clasped together as he looked out at the sea. Zoro tilted his head and watched the boy for a moment before getting up on deck and closing the door behind him with a small snap.

Luffy turned at the sound and Zoro sighed. He had been trying to be silent, but, that hadn't worked too well. Not to mention the night was still. The swordsman walked up behind his captain, and then leaned on the rail, copying the boy's posture.

"So," Zoro said but didn't continue. Luffy nodded.

"So." he replied.

"So, I was wondering why you weren't down there."

"Hmm, didn't think you would notice I was gone."

"Well, after hearing your shouts about meat and loud snoring all night for such a long time, I kind of can't sleep without it now." Zoro replied and Luffy turned, resting his back against the rail and placing his elbows on the cold wood. He chuckled.

"It has been a while." and then his face fell back into a more passive look. A look that Luffy didn't often have, unless he was thinking deeply about something. Zoro blinked and then looked back out at the moon.

He knew what was bothering Luffy. Had known all along, but honestly had wanted Luffy to admit it, because admitting something was the first step to getting over it. He sighed. This was going to take a little more tact.

"You messed up today." the swordsman said bluntly. He knew plain well that Luffy hadn't really messed up though, it was a mistake, a mistake that any one of them could have made. But Luffy, he thought in ways that worked differently to others. The boy sighed.

"You noticed huh?" he asked. Zoro shrugged.

"Well, it was pretty obvious. I mean, we got our asses kicked." Zoro replied, trying to goad Luffy into doing something more than feel sorry for himself. The boy shrugged.

"Yeah." he muttered. Zoro frowned and he reached out an arm and knocked Luffy's hat from his head.

"Pick it up." the swordsman ordered. Luffy blinked and then did so. Zoro knocked the hat once more from Luffy's hands.

"Hey!" the boy yelled.

"Pick it up." Zoro said again. Luffy bent down and did so. Zoro slapped the hat from Luffy's hands before it could reach the boy's head.

"Quit it Zoro!" Luffy yelled as he bent to pick it up again. The swordsman shoved Luffy over and then raised an eyebrow.

"Make me." he responded, crossing his arms. Luffy's teeth gritted and then he picked his hat up again, ignoring the obvious challenge. Zoro, much quicker this time, snapped an arm out and knocked the hat to the ground. Luffy growled.

"You pick it up this time!" the boy yelled. Zoro nodded, bent, and picked it up. He dusted it off and then placed it back on Luffy's head. The captain's brows furrowed and he cocked his head to the side.

"I don't understand." he said softly. Zoro shrugged.

"Easy, you're the captain." he replied and then gave a small smile, "A captain orders a crew to do something, and when he orders that crew to do it's task, the crew does as it's told, no ifs, no buts, no questions. You ordered us to battle, and we did."

"But… Zoro, I messed up. I nearly got us all killed. And you, you got hurt." Luffy said, his eyes travelling to the swordsman's leg. Zoro shook his head.

"Luffy, yeah, you messed up. You misjudged your opponent, and that's something every captain will do at least once in their lifetime. Hell, it's something **everyone **will do at least once in their lifetime. I mean, look at Mihawk. I got my ass kicked because I thought I was ready and I misjudged how strong he was." and Zoro trailed off. Luffy looked at his first mate.

It had been a while since Zoro had spoken about his confrontation with the warlord. "The same thing happened today, when I fought that freak. He was a lot stronger than I expected someone with his body structure to be. It's a human mistake, and it's something that we need to work on, to improve. You're not perfect Luffy, and we don't expect you to be." and Zoro placed a hand on his captain's shoulder, and leaned in closer to the boy's face,

"**I **don't expect you to be perfect. Isn't that good enough?" Zoro asked and Luffy blinked, his eyes looking straight back into Zoro's. There was a moment where Zoro thought Luffy was going to shove him away and yell at him for being so ridiculous and then Luffy smiled.

"Yeah. I guess that's good enough." he replied. Zoro smiled and pressed his forehead to Luffy's for a moment before stepping back.

"Now, whaddya say to a midnight snack?" he asked.

"YEAH!" Luffy cried. Zoro chuckled. They had probably just woken the entire ship, but, hey, who cared? As long as Luffy was feeling alright, everything on the Merry, was as it was supposed to be. (a/n Could have ended it there, didn't want to.)

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The next day, Zoro woke in his hammock to find Luffy, was once again gone. He blinked and looked around. It was very early, and the sun still wasn't up and the only other person who was gone, was Sanji.

The chef was obviously upstairs in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. Zoro shrugged and jumped out of the bed. Usopp gave a loud snore from where he was, and Zoro, sick and tired of Usopp always waking him in the morning with a boot in the face, decided it was time to repay the long nose. Picking up one of his own boots, he hurled it at the younger boy and then raised an eyebrow when it hit the back of Usopp's head with a thud.

Nothing. The marksman slept on.

"Wow, he's just about as thick headed as Luffy is." the swordsman muttered as he sauntered over and grabbed the boot from the floor. Pulling it on, he went back to his hammock, put his other boot on, slung his swords around his waist, and then exited the room.

Moving up the stairs, he opened the door onto the deck and was rather surprised to see Luffy standing there, waiting for him.

"Hey Zoro!" the boy cried. The swordsman blinked.

"Uh, hi. What are you doing?" he asked. Luffy grinned and grabbing Zoro's arm, he hauled the swordsman up the last of the stairs, slammed the door shut and then raced up to the front of the ship. Luffy pushed Zoro forward and pointed towards the horizon.

"I wanted you to see the sunrise." he explained. Zoro blinked.

"I've seen the sunrise many times, why would I want to see it now?" he asked, a little miffed.

"Yeah, but has Zoro ever seen it with me?" Luffy asked. Zoro had to smile at that.

"No Luffy, Zoro has not seen the sunrise with you. But, why do you care?"

"Because,"

"Because why?"

"Because, I like Zoro. And… I want to watch the sunrise with him… you." and Luffy went silent, his hat slightly shading his eyes. Zoro blinked.

"You… like Zoro.. Uh, I mean, me?" It was a simple sentence, but, it had been said with such an endearing tone that the swordsman could not ignore the sudden thoughts, the sudden urge to kiss his captain.

"Luffy…" Zoro said, giving into said urge. The boy looked up, and as the sun rose behind them, it outlined them in gold as the two kissed. It wasn't much, but it was enough, to assure the other that as long as they were together, everything would be fine. No, everything would be perfect.

**End **

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**Wow, now, don't you just want to go and see a sunrise? You do? Well, you're crazy to get up that early in the morning. Too flamin' cold for me. Winter is murder here at the moment. Anyway, that has nothing to do with One Piece, nor does it have any relevance to the story you just read.**

**Now, if you are reading this story because it is a ZoLu, or, because you like reading my stories -flatter flatter- then, I wonder if you would be interested to know that the story I wrote, _Tango_, is, or is going to have, a sequel. **

**Shiruji, and Mirathin already know about this, so, you guys will get a copy of it if I don't post it. But, I was wondering if people who did like _Tango_, would like to see _Tango 2_, posted? It may be a little while yet, as I have _Fugitives (ZoLu), Luffy's first day of school(Chibi-fic), Attitude... is everything(ZoroxOC) _and_ Irresistible(ZoLu rpg with Shiruji) _ to finish, but, if you want it, I will be more than happy to post it. **

**Okay, well, I hope to see you around, and reviews are like a warm blanket, they keep me warm when I am sitting here in the freezing cold, writing these stories for you! Think about that! XP I really need a life. **


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